Tegan sat in the waiting room at the doctor's office bouncing her leg up and down nervously. She took her phone out of her pocket just to have something to do.
"Hi Beth. Everything okay over there?" she asked.
"Yeah everything's fine. Cameron is playing lego with them"
"Okay great. I'll be home as soon as I can"
"Take your time, and good luck Tegan"
"Thanks" Tegan sighed.
"Ms Quin, Dr King will see you now" smiled the young male receptionist a minute later.
Tegan swallowed hard and smiled half-heartedly. She made her way down to the doctor's office down the hall. The office was empty so Tegan started pacing around and eventually stopped to look at the photos on the wall. The people on those photos looked happy. The family looked like a family. She felt a sudden, familiar pang of longing for Lindsey.
"Hello Ms Quin, I'm Dr Tori King" said a beautiful woman with auburn hair, pulling Tegan back to the present.
"Hi, nice to meet you. Call me Tegan please" said Tegan and offered her hand.
"Alright, call me Tori. Welcome to Provincetown!"
"Thank you, it's a beautiful place"
"Sure is. I've heard a lot about you Tegan. As you know, Cameron is staying with us for the summer"
"Oh… really" said Tegan suddenly blushing.
"I'm glad you're keeping her busy with all of us at work most of the time"
"I'm glad she's keeping us company" Tegan smiled. "I owe her at least a few lunches… a few hundred… she saved my life you know"
Tori smiled. "She's quite something our Cam. We just love her to bits. My kids are crazy about her"
"Mine too! Maybe she can bring the kids for a playdate one day?"
"Sounds wonderful, I'm sure they'll love it"
"Cool, I'll ask her to bring them this week some time"
"Okay, let's get to it. So I had a chat to both Dr Sinclair and Dr Morgan. Had a look at your medical records, interesting reading"
"Ha… used it to fall asleep did you"
"Hardly, I was riveted" Tori joked.
"They're both of the opinion that everything is perfectly on track and under control but they want me to keep an eye on things and just make sure you stay that way. Nothing major, just some basic checks, maybe a blood test now and then but I do need to see you every week please"
"I'm fine, but okay, whatever they want"
"Good girl"
Tori led Tegan to a room with a bed and equipment and proceeded to thoroughly examine her.
"Everything looks good so far Tegan. BP and heart rate are normal, your lungs sound clear. How have you been feeling?"
"Fine, good actually. No problems except for the odd wheezing episode but that's nothing new. Inhaler usually sorts me out in no time. I've only nebulised once before bed since I've been here"
"That's great. You have my cell phone number if you need anything. I should have those lab results back in a few hours, sorry about that it needs to go to the lab in the next town. If you don't hear from me, assume everything is fine. I'll call you if there's anything to be concerned about"
"Alright, thank you so much. This was actually quite painless"
"My pleasure Tegan. Take care, I'll see you next week"
-0-
Kate stared at the elevator doors holding a cup of scalding hot coffee. It dinged and Kate shook her head to pull herself together.
"Morning Dr Morgan" said a grinning Saxon Sinclair when the doors opened.
"Dr Sinclair, morning" Kate smiled and nodded.
"So, how's the first week been so far?"
"Good, got a lot of consults done. Lots of surgery lined up"
"Good. But Kate…"
"What Sax?" said Kate turning to Sax. She looked annoyed.
"Just… ease into it alright"
"I've eased into it already. Time to saddle up. I'll see you at noon so you can clear me for surgery"
Sax just nodded.
-0-
"Hellooo, I'm back" Tegan yelled as she walked into the house.
"Hi, how'd it go?" asked Cam.
"Fine. Tori's really nice"
"Yeah, she is. So… no problems?"
"No Miss Worry Wart" Tegan joked.
"Sorry didn't mean to pry"
"You didn't. Everything is perfectly fine. No problems. Anyway, it's boiling outside, who wants to swim?" The kids were freaking out and running to the bedroom to fetch their swimsuits.
"You joining us?" asked Tegan looking at Cam. Cameron's heart rate doubled in a second. All she could see was the scar on her chest, safely hidden for now under her t-shirt.
"No thanks" Cam replied fast.
"Come on, it will be fun"
"I didn't bring my suit"
"You can borrow one of mine"
"No thanks"
"Just a splash?"
"I said I don't want to swim!" Cam snapped, clearly becoming upset.
"Alright, whatever. You can be the towel girl" Tegan joked and started walking towards the bedrooms.
"Sorry Tegan, I didn't mean to snap at you. I'll bring my suit next time, promise"
"Don't apologise, it was nothing. I'll see you out there"
"I'll go get us some iced tea" Cam wiped the sweat the suddenly formed on her forehead with the back of her hand.
"Sounds great" Tegan yelled from down the hall.
Cam opened the fridge door and absentmindedly touched the scar that ran between her breasts. "What am I doing?" she mumbled.
"Pouring iced tea?" said Beth from behind her.
"Jeez you scared the crap out of me" said Cam and slammed the fridge door shut.
"Sorry. You were talking to yourself"
"I do that sometimes" Cam muttered.
Beth smiled sweetly at first and then almost seductively. Cam swallowed hard.
"I was thinking, maybe we can go out for a drink on one of the nights I'm off?" said Beth tilting her head to the side.
"Um…" said Cam, her hand on her chest again.
"Please" said Beth softly.
"Okay, sure. Sounds good" Cam smiled. Beth is a gorgeous woman, a drink would be nice. She needed to get back into the game. Scar or no scar.
-0-
Tegan and the kids were trying to warm up in the sun on recliners after their lengthy swim.
"So, Tori said it's okay if you bring their kids over one day for a playdate. Maybe tomorrow?" said Tegan.
"Sounds great but I can't tomorrow morning, I'm sorry. I have… I have an errand to run. Maybe in the afternoon?"
"Great, come early and invite Tori and Reese over for dinner when they're done with work? We can barbeque, swim, eat outside"
"Thanks, I'll invite them. Let me know what we can bring?"
"Just your lovely selves and some playmates for these two"
"Deal!"
-0-
It was 4 o'clock the next morning when Kate crawled into bed next to Sara.
"Hey, morning" said Sara kissing Kate on the cheek.
"Goodnight" Kate grunted and closed her eyes.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, just soooo tired. Need sleeeep. Ughhhh"
"You weren't supposed to work last night, why did you?"
"Had an unstable patient" Kate mumbled.
"I want to talk about this…. But I'll be kind and let you sleep now. This isn't over though"
"Uh huh" Kate grunted, five seconds later she was out for the count.
"Kate? Baby?" Sara whispered. She sighed when she got no response but she turned to her wife and softly kissed her lips. "I love you" she whispered and got up when she heard Amelia start to stir through though the baby monitor.
-0-
Cam was preoccupied during breakfast. She stared out in front of her without touching the croissant on her plate. She absentmindedly started biting her thumb nail. She was startled when her phone rang. She saw her sister's smiling face on the screen.
"Hey sis" she answered.
"Hey yourself. How's it going?"
"Good thanks. Really good"
"Do you get to sleep in on this vacation?"
"Only managed to fall asleep around 3 so I guess sleeping until 8 isn't sleeping in"
"Why? You feeling okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine"
"Something bothering you?"
"No. It was just one of those nights you know"
"So, Reese tells me you've been hanging out with Tegan quite a bit"
"I guess. I'm bored, I need company. Those two work most of the time and the kids go to play group"
"Uh huh…"
"Uh huh what?"
"I just thought you went to Provincetown to get some perspective, clear your head. Have some time for yourself"
"I'm getting plenty of me time. Plenty"
"Uh huh"
"Anyway, I'm taking the kids with me this afternoon. Think they'll like Casey and Ryan, they're great kids"
"You really like them don't you, all of them"
"Yeah, I like them"
"More specifically, Tegan? Do you like… like her?"
"No, she's just a friend. Really"
"Uh huh"
"Will you stop with the uh huh's" Cam laughed. "I like hanging out with them, that's it. We're friends. In fact, I'm going out with one of her body guards sometime this week"
"Really, that's interesting"
"Interesting?"
"No I mean it's good, you need to get back on the horse sometime"
Cam's phone indicated a call waiting. She smiled when she saw Tegan's name.
"I'll call you back later. I have a call waiting, think it may be Tori" she lied.
"Okay, talk to you later. Be good"
"I'll try. Bye"
"Morning Tegan" Cam grinned.
"Morning. What're you doing?"
"I'm just getting ready for that… errand I have to run"
"Oh yeah that. Will you be long? The kids are bored"
"So that's why you're calling, so I can come entertain the kids?" Cam said playfully.
"Okay I'm bored, the kids are more than entertained with Finding Dory"
Cam laughed.
"We should be there around 2"
"Okay hurry up, I'm making margaritas from scratch"
"Don't start without me"
"Just get here"
Cameron was smiling widely after saying goodbye to Tegan. Tegan was fun. She enjoyed her company and her sense of humour tremendously. Tegan had managed to get Cam out of her self-imposed shell more and more without even trying during the last few weeks. Cam felt more like herself when she was with her, like the old Cam, the one she had long since forgotten. The Cam that was feisty and fearless and fun, not the Cam she had turned into in the last 3 years, the bitter, angry and reckless Cam and then in the last 8 months the sad, depressed, lonely, recluse Cam. Cam with a brand new, fully functional heart with no real life in it.
Cam shook her head and got on her bike. She cycled the short distance to the clinic and left her bike next to the front door.
"Hey Cameron, it's quiet today. Go right through she's expecting you"
-0-
"Hey, there's my girls. Morning" said Kate after just a few hours of sleep.
"Morning baby, you should be sleeping"
"I tried, woke up after 3 hours and couldn't get back to sleep" Kate yawned.
"How about I draw you a nice hot bath and give you a massage when you're done, that should relax you. Put you right back to sleep"
"It's fine. I want to spend some time with you guys"
"Honey, you're tired. You need to take it easy please"
"I'm not operating Sara, I'm playing with a toddler" Kate snapped.
"When are you going back to the hospital?"
"I have to pop in to round on some patients this evening. Shouldn't be long"
"Tell me you're sleeping in your own bed tonight?"
"Yeah, I promise"
"Promise? You know what promise means right?"
"I know, I'll help you bath Am and put her to bed, then I'll pop into the hospital for an hour and I'll be back by 9"
"I'll believe it when I see it"
"And you have the rest of the day with me. I'm all yours"
"You turning off the pager?"
Kate didn't answer.
"I thought not"
Kate threw her hands up. "I told them only to page me if it's a life or death situation"
"It usually is. Isn't this why you have three senior residents tailing after you at the moment. To take some of the load off you"
"Yes, and because they're my residents who I personally trained I don't think they'll bother me. They're surgeons, they're good at what they do and they're full of it. They'll sort things out themselves"
"I hope so. Kate, I don't want to sound like a broken record but…"
"Then don't sound like one"
"Sweetie, you're not 100% yet. Please, just take care of yourself"
"I will" Kate smiled and picked up Amelia.
-0-
"I'm glad you're getting some fresh air, sun and exercise" said Dr Tori King after examining Cam. "You're colour is looking so much better, you've put on some weight. EKG looks fine. Vitals look really good. I'm happy with what I'm seeing. When's your next biopsy?"
"Five days or so"
"Okay, let's hope that the news keeps being good"
There was a knock on the door and Reese Conlon, Tori's wife and the town sheriff entered after Tori's go-ahead.
"Hi sweetheart, we were just wrapping up"
"Just wanted to stop by to ask if I should pick something up to take to Tegan's later?" asked Reese.
"She likes wine, or chocolate?"
"Okay cool. I'll get something" Reese smiled. "You're looking good cuz. You've got some colour in your cheeks again"
"Thanks, the doc seems to think so too"
"Good. You're doing so well Cam. Keep it up"
"Thank you" Cam smiled broadly.
"Get out of here. We'll see you at Tegan's around 5" said Tori.
"Can't wait for you guys to meet her"
"Cam… she's… don't let yourself get in too deep here. She's still mourning her wife and…" Tori said carefully.
"I know okay" Cam snapped. "We're friends, that's all! Why is everybody so up in my face about this? We're just friends"
"I know, I also know that I haven't seen you this relaxed, this… happy in years" said Reese.
"I'm happy, yes. I was going to die and then I got a new heart. That's what people do when they get a second chance, they're happy"
"I know but… these last few years… I don't know, it was as if something was chasing you"
"I had a lot of time to think in that hospital… a lot of time to make peace with things. I'm not being chased anymore… or… well, I'm getting further and further away from the things that are chasing me"
"Does that mean you're going back to being a…."
"No, at least I don't think so. Why would I do that?" said Cam before Reese could finish her sentence.
Tori pulled Reese's hand. "I think she's keen to get out of here. We can do the twenty questions later"
"Alright. See you this afternoon. Keys to the car's on the breakfast counter. The kids are with granny if you won't mind picking them up"
"I'd love to, I'm sure my favourite aunt's got some pie or something for me to eat"
"Appetite's back" Tori grinned and made a show of writing it on Cam's chart.
After Cam closed the door behind her Reese turned to Tori and shook her head. "It's still chasing her… it's just in the shadows for a while"
A/N: Remember to send me your feedback and opinions!